Nairobi — Newly-crowned Lewa Safari Marathon champion Philip Kigen has thanked his wife, Nancy Wambui, for motivating him to victory at the 24th edition of the annual race on Saturday in Isiolo.
The 2013 Graz Marathon champion said his wife has been pushing him on in training in the run-up to the competition and subsequently dedicated the win to her and his two sons.
"I dedicate this victory to my wife and my two kids. She has been giving me a lot of encouragement in my preparations for today's win. I thank God a lot because without Him, this would not have been possible," Kigen said.
The 42-year-old clocked 2:19:06 to cut the tape ahead of John Mitei (2:21:23) and Isaack Koech (2:22:37) in second and third respectively.
Having come second in last year's edition, Kigen revealed he had made a vow with himself to win the race in 2023.
"Last year, I finished second and for this year, I really wanted to win. It feels great to beat the former defending champion even though he is also a winner in his own right. I knew I had to prepare well for this event considering the level of competition I expected to encounter this time round," he said.
Kigen has been regular participant in the Nairobi StanChart Marathon without much success.
He admitted that he is over the moon after clinching his first-ever win in a long time.
"I have been competing in the Nairobi Marathon for the past few years without much success. The race was quite good...the weather was perfect although the course was really tough...especially the hilly sections. All in all, I am really elated to win my first race after a very long time," Kigen, who finished third at the 2015 Pretoria Marathon, said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Kigen said he will take time to savour his sweet win even as he plots for his next race.
Another winner who was grateful for the influence of family was Mercy Kwambai, who clocked to finish first in the women's 42km race.
Kwambai said she has been able to efficiently balance motherhood and athletics to continue soaring in both aspects.
"This win...I would like to dedicate it to my daughter. Thanks to her, I have been able to balance between motherhood and athletics. All gratitude to God for His guidance and enabling for me to win today's race. Although the course was tough, I did not see any close challenger behind me and that means I performed well," the National Police Service athlete said.
Kwambai crossed the finish line in 2:48:35 as Zeddy Jerop (2:52:54) and last year's winner, Fridah Lodepa (3:04:32) came second and third respectively.
She, nonetheless, expressed her dissatisfaction with the time she set in the annual competition, noting she would have run faster had the course allowed.
"My time here today was quite slower than I would normally run majorly because of the course, which had a lot of hilly areas. However, what matters as per now is the win considering that competed here in the past and finished second," she said.
Her last race was at the Police Athletics Championships earlier this month during which she clocked 35:04.33 to finish an underwhelming 10th.
